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Credit unions help Fitchburg, Leominster and Shirley middle-school students learn how to handle money

By Jack Minch, jminch@sentinelandenterprise.com

Updated:
04/16/2014 08:45:34 AM EDT

Cory Kozloski, left, and Lorenzo Budryk, both 13 and seventh-graders at the Memorial Middle School in Fitchburg, compare their budgets at the CU4 Reality event on Tuesday at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Leominster

It's that moment of enlightenment for students who take a financial-reality program put on by area credit unions when they realize their career choices won't support the lifestyles they envision for themselves.

On the other hand, other students are surprised their career options offer more financial reward than expected.

A collaboration of credit unions has been working with schools in North Central Massachusetts on a financial-literacy program that culminated in the CU4 Reality Fair at DoubleTree by Hilton on Erdman Way on Tuesday.

"It's really teaching students the reality of life," Richards said of the 6-year-old program.

The curriculum is used in elementary through high schools nationally, and more than 700 local students took part.

It's normally used in math courses at the elementary-school and middle-school levels, as well as in business or math classes at the high-school level.

Students start the program by making a career choice, then research the potential financial earnings, Leominster School Department spokeswoman Gina Wironen said.

Students on Tuesday got a budget sheet, then went from booth to booth deciding whether to budget such items as a car, life insurance, electronics, clothes and housing.

"They come here to basically live their financial life," Richards said. "It's all about creating an environment where they are made aware of consequences of their decisions."

Donna Chalifoux, a guided-learning classroom paraprofessional at McKay Arts Academy in Fitchburg, said the program is a life lesson.

"I think it just gives perspective on real life and how much things cost and what they have to do to afford things," Chalifoux said.

The students took their assignment seriously, spending several weeks preparing, she said.

"I saw a lot of kids who took pride in being able to make their budget work," Chalifoux said.

Ashley Villot, 13, an eighth-grader at McKay, learned that the starting salary for a nurse is about $34,000 annually. That allowed her budget to afford a Kia Spectra but not a puppy or membership to a health club, she said.

Her classmate, Alex Alejandro, 14, is interested in being a software developer, and he learned they make about $90,000 to start. That salary allowed him to get everything he wanted on his budget.

"Yeah, and more," Alejandro said.

The budget he put together allowed him to buy a $38,470 2014 Lexus IS and pay $1,500 a month in rent, he said.

"I learned that you can spend, but you've got to track how much money you get a month so you can support yourself and help other people," Alejandro said.

He wasn't too surprised by the costs to build a budget because his parents try to counsel him.

"Sometimes they tell me how much Internet is or something," he said.

After building their budgets, students met with counselors from the credit unions to discuss their choices.

There were some struggling musicians but also a chemical engineer, counselors said.

One girl fell short on her budget and saw another student with a surplus at the end, so she asked to have some of the money, said Nicole Curtin, the marketing communications manager for Workers' Federal Credit Union.

"And I had to tell her that's not how it works," Curtin said.

There were good signs among the students, according to Workers' Credit Union Assistant Branch Manager Darryl Richardson and Assistant Vice President Andrew Caputo.

"One of the things we noticed is, everybody had savings listed on their budget," Richardson said.

Hannah Faulkner, 14, thought the fair was fun.

She is considering the possibility of being a criminal defense attorney, with a starting salary about $100,000. It's an income that can meet her needs in life after everything is budgeted, Faulkner said.

"I had, I think, $1,300 left over with everything," she said. "I was kind of surprised how expensive the insurance was or electronics."

Schools participating include Wachusett High School; Clinton High School; Leominster High School's Center for Technical Education innovation; My Turn of Fitchburg; St. Anna's School of Leominster; Samoset and Sky View middle schools in Leominster; McKay and Memorial School in Fitchburg; and Ayer Shirley Regional Middle School.

The curriculum was developed by America's Credit Union Museum in Manchester, N.H.

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